MP3 is a lossy format. Max uses LAME, an open-source encoder, to encode MP3s. To enable Max to generate MP3s from your rips, select the MP3 checkbox under Formats in Max's preferences.
Configuring MP3 Output
MP3 configuration is located in the MP3 section of the preferences.
Variable Bitrate
Variable bitrate is the recommended setting for MP3 encoding using LAME.
To generate a variable bitrate file, set the Target to Quality and choose the desired quality using the slider, with 0 being the lowest quality and 100 being the highest. Quality settings of 70-100 should produce CD-quality encodings.
Constant Bitrate
To generate an MP3 with a constant bitrate, set the Target to Bitrate then use the slider to choose the desired bitrate. Bitrates set to 128 and higher will generally produce CD-quality MP3s.
Average Bitrate
If you'd like to set an average bitrate, set the Target to Bitrate, choose your desired average bitrate, then uncheck the "Restrict encoder to constant bitrate" checkbox.
Encoding Engine Quality
After choosing a bitrate or quality, LAME can use different algorithms for encoding.
Fast will result in lower quality and a shorter encoding time, and should only be used when you need to encode quickly. It is equivalent to LAME's -f
option.
Standard will result in decent quality in a fair amount of time, and is the default. It is equivalent to LAME's -q 5
option.
High uses the slowest and best possible versions of all algorithms. It is equivalent to LAME's -h
option.
Mono
Mono encodings result in significant compression and loss of quality by consolidating the two (stereo) channels in one (mono) channel.